Metamask Issue: Data Not Retrieving from Smart Contract

As a developer building a real estate dApp marketplace with MetaMask, I encountered an unexpected issue where my code would retrieve different data from the same smart contract across different versions of “Ethers” (5.7.2). This issue caused frustration and wasted development time.

Problem: Different Ethers Versions

When using MetaMask to interact with a dApp, it is essential to ensure that the web3.js library is compatible with different Ethereum blockchain versions. Specifically, we are encountering issues with different “Ethers” (5.7.2) versions, where the same code retrieves data from the smart contract differently.

Code: Same Logic Across Versions

Our dApp uses a single JavaScript file to handle interactions with the smart contract. The file is structured like this:

const Web3 = require("web3");
const Web3Provider = require('web3-provider');
async function main() {
const web3 = new Web3(new Web3Provider());
// Replace this comment with your actual logic to interact with the smart contract
const propertyData = await web3.eth.call(0x...property_address, ["GET_PROPERTY_DATA"]);
// Save or process the data as needed
console.log(propertyData);
}

Problem: Different Ethers versions

When we run this code, different versions of `Ethers'' (5.7.2) produce different results for the same property data. For example:

• On version 5.7.0, theGET_PROPERTY_DATAfunction returns an object with a specific set of properties.

• On version 5.7.1, theGET_PROPERTY_DATAfunction returns an empty array.

• Upgrade web3.js: Update theweb3package to version 4.x.x, which is compatible with newer Ethereum blockchain versions.

npm install web3@4.x.x

• Upgrade Provider

  

  : Upgrade the Ethers provider to version 5.x.x, which supports newer Ethereum blockchain versions.

upgrade npm --force-local ethers.js

`

Testing and Deployment

After upgrading the codebase, we need to test and deploy it to different Ethereum blockchain versions to verify that the issue is resolved.

• Test on multiple Ethers: Deploy our dApp on different Ethereum blockchain versions (e.g. 5.7.0, 5.7.1, 5.8.0) to ensure that the data fetching issue is resolved.

• Check compatibility: Verify that the same logic and code produce identical results across different Ethers.

Conclusion

The Metamask issue we encountered was due to incompatible “Ethers” versions. By updating our web3.js library and provider, we were able to resolve the issue and ensure consistent data fetching across different Ethereum blockchain versions. This solution can be applied to similar issues in other dApp development projects that require compatibility with different blockchain versions.

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